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Vans skate shoes

My oldest son is very heavy on shoes, wearing them out on average every few months. As he now takes a men's size 11, buying shoes for him is very expensive! He likes to wear casual skate type trainers and our most recent purchase is a pair of Vans covert skate shoes. As he has now been wearing these since just before Christmas I feel I can review them!

The Vans company has an interesting history.The company was first founded in 1966 by American brothers Paul and James Van Doren.The company was known as the Van Doren rubber company and sold shoes directly to the public. Although initially the small company did well the success did't last and by the mid 1980's the brothers were forced to file for bankruptcy. However the brothers worked hard to pay off their debts and reacquired their company. The company is now one of the most successful small businesses in the US. Vans not only sells shoes but also clothing,backpacks and watches.

The shoes were purchases from our local sports shop and cost £45. I see that they are also available from Sports direct (£34.99) and Amazon (£41.23) It really is worth shopping around to get the best deal. However as his old pair of trainers had a hole in the sole I needed to replace them quickly.

The shoes look of high quality and have a really thick sole with good * honeycomb* type tread. They are available in several colour choices including grey and white with blue detail and black and grey with red detail. Our local sports shops only had these two colour choices available although I can see that there are other options. My son opted for the black and grey version. The shoes are made of black suede and have a checked design inset on the side of each shoe. The tongue is red and there is a red Vans logo at the back of the heel. The laces are black and contrast well with the red detail. The shoes are well padded around the ankle, heel and tongue. The sole has a thick white rim with black line around it.

My son has found these shoes really comfortable to wear and in the icy weather found they gave excellent grip. The thick padding ensures that they don't rub; even when new. The shoes come in sizes 6-11 including half sizes; I just hope his feet don't get any bigger! The black suede is easy to clean using a wire brush to first remove any dirt then using a spray designed for suede shoes. As they are predominately black they don't tend to show the dirt! My son has worn these shoes in all weathers and his feet have stayed dry, although they are not advertised as waterproof. He also likes to play football and often runs in these shoes,so they are subjected to heavy use! I have just inspected the shoes and although there is a bit of wear around the front of the shoes the soles and the rest of the shoes look good.

Overall these seem like excellent shoes and will hopefully last ;longer than the few months we got out of the last pair!